Eagle Scout

Re “ Scouts employ aggressive tactics in abuse defense ,” Dec. 25 I applaud The Times for reporting the disgusting practices of the Boy Scouts of America. The overwhelming evidence that shows how the Boy Scouts went after the victims rather than protecting young boys says everything we need to know about this corrupt organization. I am an Eagle Scout and had the privilege of having four Scoutmasters who were wonderful and brilliant teachers. These men were educators first and dedicated their careers to bettering young people's lives.

IRVING, Texas  - Boy Scouts of America officials are expected to announce Wednesday whether they will lift a national ban on gay leaders and members, instead giving local scouting groups the power to decide. The Scouts' national board, which has been meeting near its headquarters outside Dallas since Monday, is expected to vote on the issue. Spokesmen would not discuss the timetable.  The Boy Scouts reaffirmed the ban in July after a two-year internal review, but officials announced last week that they would take up the issue again.

A former Eagle Scout who became a Boy Scout leader faces child pornography charges on Long Island, N.Y., officials said. Edward Orenchuk III of Garden City, has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for possessing images of child pornography and making those images available to others via the Internet, Nassau County Dist. Atty. Kathleen Rice announced . Orenchuk was arrested and arraigned Wednesday, officials said. He is being held on $400,000 bond or $100,000 cash.

Lobbying efforts stepped up on Monday as the leadership of the Boy Scouts prepared to consider an end to the national ban on gay membership. Members of the Scouts' board began their three-day meeting Monday in Irving, Texas, where those seeking to end the ban presented petitions they said had 1.4 million signatures. Save Our Scouts planned a prayer vigil in support of the ban for Wednesday, the day the board is expected to vote. Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mother from Ohio who was ousted as a Scout den leader, was among those delivering the signatures gathered online.

Jan-Erik Gustaveson of Claremont was recently honored for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. A Boy Scout for six years, Jan-Erik has earned 34 merit badges. His Eagle project was planning and supervising the reconstruction of a trail segment near Mt. Baldy. Jan-Erik, 14, is a freshman at Claremont High School.

Robert Bustamante, a student at Servite High School, was honored recently by the City Council for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Bustamante was commended for his "meritorious achievement" and for his civic and social work as a Scout. Bustamante's Eagle Scout work project involved painting at Servite High School. He is on the high school's track team and is a member of Thespian, the honor society for actors.

Three new Eagle Scouts--William Joseph Fowler, Joshua Schoenwald and David Robert Muse--have been honored by the City Council. The council passed separate resolutions honoring the recipients of Boy Scouts of America's highest honor and praising the young men for their service to the community. Each resolution summarized the background of the Scout being cited and noted his public-service work. The council's resolution on Fowler said that his Scout work included the attainment of 25 merit badges.

As an elected official, every time I take a leadership position on a fundamental issue I am accused of having "political" motives. Just so people like James Randall and others understand: I am an Eagle Scout. I'm not claiming to be a puritan or a perfect person, but Scouting was a positive influence in my life, and Scouting, with its acknowledgment of God and fundamental values, is needed by youth today. If atheists want their children to be part of a camping and fellowship organization, there are several such organizations which do not stress values or acknowledge God. For them to try and sever Scouting's recognition of God is tantamount to saying Christians, Jews and Muslims are not free to have a voluntary association with others of similar belief.

The Ventura County Council of the Boy Scouts honored Lockheed-Martin chief test pilot Tom Morgenfeld Tuesday at its annual Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner in Oxnard. The Camarillo resident received the Fritz Huntsinger Sr. Award, bestowed each year when the Eagle Scout class is dedicated in honor of a prominent Ventura County Eagle Scout. Morgenfeld attained the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 16 in Hamburg, N.Y.

The Eagle Rock Elementary School Library recently reopened after five years, thanks to Eagle Scout Brian Ellingford and volunteer work by teachers, parents and students. Budget cuts had forced the library, which had cracked walls, peeling paint and boxes of books waiting to be shelved, to close in 1986. Ellingford, a member of Boy Scout Troop 106 in Glendale and a former student at the school, restored the library as his Eagle Scout service project.

Re "Boy Scouts may lift ban on gays," Jan. 29 I was an Eagle Scout who for decades proudly carried my Scout card signed by President Eisenhower, which I eventually returned to protest the Boy Scouts of America's exclusion of gays. The small step the organization may take to open its doors to another minority group is heartening. Following its own pledge to "do a good turn daily," the Boy Scouts' small turn from its discriminatory policy will hopefully be the first step in a full turnaround.

Re "Top execs didn't report suspected Scout abuse," Dec. 31 On Monday and Christmas Day (among others), The Times published front-page articles about the Boy Scouts of America's sexual abuse reporting practices relative to its Ineligible Volunteer Files. I'm an Eagle Scout and have been a scouting volunteer for more than 45 years, and I've never witnessed a case of sexual abuse in the organization. However, I do not condone the past practices of the Boy Scouts. Those policies have changed with required criminal background checks of volunteers.

Re “ Scouts employ aggressive tactics in abuse defense ,” Dec. 25 I applaud The Times for reporting the disgusting practices of the Boy Scouts of America. The overwhelming evidence that shows how the Boy Scouts went after the victims rather than protecting young boys says everything we need to know about this corrupt organization. I am an Eagle Scout and had the privilege of having four Scoutmasters who were wonderful and brilliant teachers. These men were educators first and dedicated their careers to bettering young people's lives.

A former Eagle Scout who became a Boy Scout leader faces child pornography charges on Long Island, N.Y., officials said. Edward Orenchuk III of Garden City, has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for possessing images of child pornography and making those images available to others via the Internet, Nassau County Dist. Atty. Kathleen Rice announced . Orenchuk was arrested and arraigned Wednesday, officials said. He is being held on $400,000 bond or $100,000 cash.

Re "Scouts fought background screening," Dec. 2 How sad to see the Boy Scouts of America join the Roman Catholic Church as an organization professing good while shielding evil. I am an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout. If I'd known 20 years ago what your articles have uncovered, I wouldn't have allowed any of my children to join this dangerously hypocritical organization. I should have resigned as well. James Willwerth Altadena ALSO: Letters: Paying for TV we don't watch Letters: Going to the mat for rich taxpayers Letters: Israel's largesse for the Palestinians

You can't be in Boy Scouts if you're openly gay - but a group of Eagle Scouts wants to change that. Current and former scouts have banded together to form Scouts for Equality , challenging the Boy Scouts of America's century-old policy that bans gay scouts and troop leaders from its ranks. The group's launch comes less than 24 hours after Boy Scout top brass said they would review a proposed resolution to end the ban, but said it had little chance of passing. “When it comes to matters of sexual orientation, our policy is to not discuss that in any way, but to refer kids to spiritual advisors, parents and guardians,” Deron Smith, a Boy Scouts spokesman, told The Times.

Gary Lee Larson, 17, of Monrovia Boy Scout Troop 147, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Larson has served as patrol leader and troop guide, earning 21 merit badges. For his Eagle project, he organized his troop into a work crew that cleaned and painted the senior citizens card hut in Library Park. He is a senior at Monrovia High School, where he is editor of the yearbook, captain of the water polo team and a varsity letterman in swimming.

Robert G. Harmston, a 16-year-old Fullerton Union High School student, has earned his Eagle Scout Award. Harmston, a Boy Scout from Troop 1201 since he was 7, now joins the small percentage--2%--of all Boy Scouts who attain the Eagle rank. He did so by building a trail with a wheelchair-accessible ramp at Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach. He said he built the ramp so those who must use wheelchairs can enjoy the bay.

?Michael Sclawy-Adelman, a 17-year-old Scout in suburban Fort Lauderdale, Fla., went on a 20-mile hike last year in 100-degree weather in Big Cypress National Preserve. He was hoping to become an Eagle Scout. But by the midpoint of the hike, he and two other Scouts were too overheated to eat lunch, according to a ranger's report. By the 15th mile, he was stumbling. He vomited and then lost consciousness. The two Scout leaders waited more than an hour and a half before calling for help on their cellphones, according to allegations in a suit filed by Miami attorney Mark A. Sylvester, and Michael died of heat exhaustion.